The present disclosure relates to a spreadsheet tool manager, and more specifically, to a spreadsheet tool manager for collaborative modeling.
Space systems engineers have a constant need for rapid creation of new system modeling and analysis tools. When an engineer creates a spreadsheet tool for solving and/or optimizing a model, other engineers may be unaware that the tool exists already. Accordingly, a second engineer may develop a substantially similar analysis tool that solves a similar problem without the benefit of the work of the first engineer. Organizations may miss the opportunity to reuse modeling tools and share cost in the engineering value stream.
Spreadsheet applications such as Microsoft Excel® are often a primary platform in the modeling tool development process because spreadsheet applications do not require special installation, they have a low learning curve, and can provide a powerful capability to perform math, organize information, and visualize data. Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is a built-in programming language extension used in Microsoft Excel® that allows users to create user-defined functions (UDFs) and macros. VBA can be used for performing quick calculations, performing detailed sizing analyses, modeling steady-state conditions in engineering problems, and even transient modeling.